Conductor for electric railways



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

0. DAHL.

CONDUCTOR FOR BL'EOTRIG RAILWAYS.

Patented Feb. 26, 18 89.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

O. DAHL.

001111110103 FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

No. 398,498.. Patented Feb. 26, 1889.

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(No Model.)

0. DAHL.

CONDUCTOR FOR ELEGTRIG RAILWAYS.

No. 398,498. Patented Feb. 2 1889.

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lUNlTFD States PATENT @FPIQEQ OLOF DAllL, OF BROOKLYN, NFAV YORK.

CONDUCTOR FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,498, dated February26, 1889. Application filed November 22, 1888. Serial No. 291,5L3. (N0model.)

1.0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, OLOF DAHL, a subject of the Kin g of Sweden, and aresident of brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Conductors for ElectricRailways, of which the following is a specification. My inventionrelates to conductors for electric railways, the objectbeing to providea construction whereby all leakage of the current is prevented and thedanger of shocking persons is obviated.

The invention consists, generally, of a con tinuous metallic conductorthoroughly insulated and embedded in the conduit or road-bed, incombination with asectional conductor which is exposed within theconduit. sections of the latter conductor are placed in electricalconnection with the main or continuous conductor by the weight of thevehicle or the current-collector The particular point of novelty lies inthe means employed for accomplishing this connection between the mainand sectional conductors.

The details of the construction willnow be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in wl1ich-- Figure 1 represents across-section of a tional conductor-will have the tendency to road-bedand conduit; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section of same; Fig. 3, a planshowing the manner of mounting the sectional conductor; Figs. it and 5,sections taken at right angles to each other of the mechanism connectingthe main and sectional conductors; and Figs.

(5 and 7 are similar views of modifications of Q with said posts.

the same device.

The main or continuous comluctor is repre sented by A. It is preferablyin the form of a fiat strip of metal, and is properlyinsulated andembedded in a base -board, B, placed within the conduit. Atintervalsthroughout the length of the continuous conductor there areprovided studs or posts 0, which are securedin the conductor A, as shownin Figs. 5 and '7. This form of connection, however, may be modified atthe discretion of the builder. These posts project upward into theconduit and carry sleeves c of insulating material, preferably glass orhard rubber. These sleeves are screwthreaded externally, and

VJlle posts l; project.

connected thereto.

have fitted onto them other sleeves, 0', also of insulating material.Before the sleeves c are adjusted, l1owcver, a collar or nut, is placedupon the sleeves c and rests against a' flange formed upon the upper endof the sleeves c. The construction is such that the posts extend aslight distance above the sleeves c, and the said sleeves rest uponshoulders formed at the lower end of the said posts, as shown Betweenthe collar 0 and sleeves 0 there is gripped a spring-plate, D. Thisplate is preferably circular and corrugated in the man.- ner shown, andforms the bottom of a dishshaped body, D, the plate D being riveted orotherwise sccurel y fastened to the lower edge of the part D. Thisconstruction forms an air and water tight space, E, into which the Thepart I) is metallic, and is provided with a disk of copper, (Z, withinthe chamber E, which. is adapted to come into contact with a similarcopper disk upon the heads of the posts in order to insure goodelectrical contact. The parts D are bolted or otherwise secured to thesections G of the sectional conductor. My idea is to connect one ofthese devices with each section, although of course two or more may beconnected with each of the sections.

It is obvious that a weight upon this secforce the conductor and thepart I) downward and into contact with the heads of the posts 13, thusclosing the electric circuit through that section of the conductor. Whenthe weight is removed, the spring D acts to throw the section upward andout of cont-act The sectional conductors are preferably made rectangularin cross section and smaller at the forward end than at the rear end.This will be seen 011 reference to Fig. 2. If this construction were notprovided, the current-collector might strike the ends of the sectionsand be impeded in its movement. Furthermore, the sections are graduallydc pressed instead of being suddenly driven down, and during this entiregradual. depres sion the circuit through the collector is maintainedclosed.

The thrust or blow delivered by the sections when they are drivendownward is received upon the shoulder at the lower end of the IOCposts, thus making it practic'z'illy impossible to wear out the parts.

The chamber E being both air and water tight, the liability of leakageby reason or moisture is reduced to the minimum. In fact, the wholeconduit may become filled with water without losing any part of thecurrent.

In Figs. 6 and 7 the construction is modified for the purpose ofproviding a different "form of insulation for the posts B. In this casethe insulation of the main conductor is extended up and surrounds theposts, while the sleeves upon the same may be made of metal. Thisconstruction, however, is not so strong and durable as the onepreviously described, because in this instance the thrust from thesectional conductors is resisted wholly by the screw-threads on thesleeves, which may in time give out. The first- (le scribed constructionis the preferred form.

The operation of the device is obvious. hen the current-collector uponthe vehicle strikes a section of the sectional conductor, it drives saidsection downward, allowing the current to flow from the main conductorthrough the section and to the motor on the vehicle. When the vehiclehas passed on to the next section, the first section operated rises outof contact with its post, and therefore gets none of the current.

It is observed that this construction is very simple and cheap, is notliable to get out of order,'and the road may be repaired with thegreatest facility. The parts are only screwed together and may bequickly removed. To repair any part of the conduit, it is only necessaryto tear up a small area of the street.

I may also fill the space E with a gassay nitrogenwhich will not corrodethe contacts, and then if the chamber is not perfectly airtight it willmake no material difference.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. In an electric-railway system,a main continuous insulated conductor provided at intervals with postscl ectrically and rigidly connected thereto, the heads of the postsbeing inclosed by air and water tight chambers hav ing flexible walls,all in combination with a sectional conductor, the sections of which aremovable and rigidly and electrically connected with the walls of saidchamber, whereby a weight upon the sectional conductor will establishelectrical connection between the main and sectional conductor, asdescribed.

In an electric railway, a continuous elec trical conductor, incombination with a sectional conductor whose sections are movable withrespect to each other, the ends of the sections lapping each other andlying side by side, one of each adjacent pair of ends being beveledgradually toward its extremity, so that its contact side at the extremeend will normally be below the contact side of the adjacent lapping end,whereby when the current-collector passes from one section to another itwill not be impeded and the flow of current to the collector will not bestopped.

. In witness whereof I have hereunto signed myname in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

()LOF DAHL.

\Vitnesses:

WM. A. ROSENBAUM, C. J. l\lELLIN.

